Techniques in Depth: Tie or Die

Techniques in Depth: Tie or Die

Do you remember learning to knit? Do you remember that first garter stitch scarf project? Once you got the hang of the mechanics of the knit stitch, it was plain sailing—knit, knit, knit, knit happily along—until that first ball of yarn ran out.

The scarf wasn’t nearly long enough, and your helpful friend had supplied you with a second ball of the yarn, so it was clear what needed to happen: you needed to start using the new ball. “Oh, just join it,” she said.

Without further instruction, most knitters just tie the new yarn onto the old one, and keep knitting. And it works, and all is well.

But then, More Experienced Knitters start to Offer Advice.

And the thing they feel most strongly about is that knot you made. Oh, no. No knots. Knots are bad. Knots ruin your knitting.

And the first time you hit a knot in a ball of yarn, you’re told to undo it and join it “properly,” further supporting the anti-knot message.

“But how on earth are you supposed to join the yarn without knots?” the beginner asks, not unreasonably.

As with so many things in knitting, there is no one answer, no one technique that works for every situation.

So, forthwith, I present some options for you. SPOILER ALERT: It turns out knots aren’t all bad.

Whatever You Do, Don’t Do This

Just to get this out of the way: under no circumstances do I recommend the very straightforward but rather terrible “drop the first yarn and start knitting with the new one” method. The problem with this is that you end up with sloppy stitches: the last of the old yarn and the first of the new are unanchored, and inclined to pull loose. At best, you get a small hole, at worst, stitches actually start to come undone.

A hole too big to tolerate.

You can tidy up the hole and the looseness when you weave the ends in, but this requires precision and care. Why make work for yourself?

Consider the Circumstances

Factors that will determine your strategy: is the yarn sticky/felty, or superwash/slippery? Are you working in the round, or a flat piece that will be seamed, or a flat piece that won’t be seamed? Are you changing colors? The answers to these questions affect not only the method you use to join, but also the place in your knitting where you join.

The Splice

If the yarn is felty—and let’s be clear what I mean here: if it’s 100% sheep’s wool or other animal fiber, non-superwash, non-machine-washable, hand-wash only yarn that felts up when wet—then the best answer is a spit splice. Yes, I said spit. Because it uses spit.

Divide the plies of each end of the yarn, for about three inches, and lay them end-to-end, overlapping the ends and mingling the plies.

Like so.

Then spit on it, and rub the yarns together between your hands, until they stick together, and it’s blended like a single strand of yarn.

Yes, I said spit.

Two colors are used here for illustration, but if you are splicing two ends of the same color, the join is nearly invisible.

What you’re doing is felting the yarn ends together, and the enzymes in your saliva actually help this process. You can use water, too, of course, but it’s slightly less effective and definitely less dramatic.

Some like to thin the yarn a little on both sides by removing a few of the plies along the spliced length, to reduce the thickness of the join. I’m not personally a fan of this, because if they’re not securely felted down, those little cut ends can worm their way loose. As with the next two methods, a couple of slightly-thicker-than usual stitches are barely noticeable in the fabric.

and no, I don’t bother waiting for the join to dry before I continue knitting.

bonus: the splice solution leaves NO ENDS TO WEAVE IN!

Do be careful, though. I was told a very sad tale once: a knitter made a beautiful multi-skein color-patterned baby blanket, and spliced the ends. Only after the thing had come apart in the wash did she read the ballband carefully, and learn that she had been working with superwash wool. If you’re at all uncertain, test a splice on two short lengths of the yarn. Let it dry and pull hard to see if the ends come apart.

In the Round or Flat No Seams

If you’re working in the round, or on a flat piece that will not be seamed up (that is, has exposed edges, like a scarf or a shawl) then you’ll be joining new yarn in the middle of the piece. (Joining the yarn at the end of a row is a bad idea if the edges are going to show. Unless you’re the world’s best weaver-in-of-ends, the join will affect the edge, making it bulky and untidy. It’s just less noticeable in the middle of the row.)

For a middle of the row join, for most purposes, I use the “two-yarns-three-stitches” method. Hold the two yarns together, end-to-end as if the new ball is a continuation of the old one, overlapping the ends by about four inches. Leaving about 2 inches dangling on either end, work three stitches with both ends of the yarn held together.

As with a splice, those three stitches will be thicker than the rest of the row, but it’s barely noticeable, particularly if you’re working with a yarn with a bit of texture.

The right side.

The wrong side.

A “Russian-style” join is also handy in this situation: leaving about three inches on each side, fold the ends of the yarn around each other:

Like so.

I like to take a darning needle and run the ends through the plies of the yarn on each side of the loop, for extra security, but this step isn’t entirely necessary.

It makes it easier to work the join, but it’s no more or less secure in the grand scheme of things.

Then just knit, making sure you hold the yarn doubled for a couple of stitches on each side of the join.

\

Russian join on the right side.

As with the previous method, you only want to work a few stitches with the doubled yarn, and do make sure there’s a good tail hanging on either end.

Russian join on the wrong side.

If you’re superclever, you can actually use this technique for a color change. You can measure to see how much yarn you need before the change, and ensure you place the “fold” at exactly that point.

And the best part? With both of these methods, the ends are fully secure, and if you never get around to weaving them in, you’ll still be absolutely fine.

Flat, to Be Seamed; When Changing Colors

If you’re working a flat piece that will be seamed up, then the best place to join the yarn is at the end of the row, on the seam edge. And the best way to do it: with a knot.

Yes, you heard me right: with a knot.

But not just any knot. I tie the new yarn around the tail of the old one, using an overhand knot. Pull it snug but not tight—you want the knot to be able to slide up the tail of the old yarn. This allows you to position the new yarn appropriately for the first stitch of the row, to make sure the tension is appropriate and that the last stitch of the old yarn and the first stitch of the new are tidy and secure.

How to make that sliding overhand knot.

How it looks knitted up.

If you really want, you can carefully unpick the knot when it’s time to weave the ends in. But heck, it’s hidden in a seam, so it’s not going to be a problem. (Which is to say I never bother with this myself except for massively super-bulky jumbo yarns.)

I also use this method when adding in a new color for stripes or other color work, for a clean change.

The Elephant in the Room

Yes, I know: chances are your grandmother, or some other Expert Knitter told you that Knots are Bad and Should Never Be Used.

There are two very good reasons why knots can be problematic in knitting.

One: If you cut the ends short, the knot will be inclined to come undone.

Two: a knot leaves a little lump in the fabric. A lump that will, inevitably, pop through to the front of your fabric and be visible.

The “sliding” knot solution avoids both of these problems: you’re not going to cut the ends, and because it’s going to be hidden in the seam, it won’t ever pop through and be visible.

A Side Note

The “magic knot” solution has become popular in recent years. Many swear by it, but I am a skeptic. I have tried it, and it’s not foolproof. It can come undone with a slippery yarn, or one that’s a little on the fragile side. And if it does come undone, because you’ve cut the ends short, there’s no way to mend the resulting hole, no yarn tails you can use to tidy and tie things up again.

There are plenty of other methods for joining yarn. You may already have a favorite. Great! If you like it, and it works for you, keep doing it. But if you don’t, I hope these three solutions help you expand your toolkit.

This Could Come in Handy

Every knitter could benefit from having Kate Atherley at their fingertips.

I read long ago of an alternative to the spit step in the spit splice: follow the yarn prep steps up to the point of spitting. Then lick the palm of each hand and felt the join … saliva is still involved, just applied in a different way. I have used this technique for years, and it works perfectly … just another variation.

I thought I was the only one to use 2 yarns, 3 stitches, though I didn’t call it that (didn’t call it anything)! I love your practical advice that if it won’t show or affect your work, it’s ok. How about a similar article for cottons and slippery yarns, where many of these things won’t work as well.

Again, I’ve been knitting for a millennium, but I learned something new. I’ve never split open the plies before spit joining! Although, I do chew them a bit, which breaks them up. That works pretty well, but I will try splitting the plies.

And here I thought I was the only person on the planet who chewed yarn! It loosens the ends up and gets them sufficiently spit-ified for joining in one easy step! I do try not to do it in public though.

Another great Kate article I’ll be saving! Thank you Kate. I did use spit splice on a baby blanket I just knit for my cousin and it was superwash wool bulky yarn. It felted beautifully, and I washed and dried the blanket before gifting and it looks perfect. Now I don’t know whether it will continue to hold up or come apart at some point in the future. Oops!!

I do the drop & continue like nothing happened technique as well, but only when I’m changing at the sides. When I’m in the middle of the row I do one of Kate’s other options to avoid that hole, OR I drop & continue but weave in the ends right away so the hole doesn’t form, but I always have a vague sense of doom about that.

Lol thx Marilyn! I do wait til it dries and give it a good tug to test it. It holds and I joined 3 new balls that way on the baby blanket!! I’m also a fan of magic knot looks perfectly acceptable to me! Haha

Ooh, had to google it! Thanks! I’m making the Doctor Who scarf here soon and will attempt one of these knots…..well, what’s my prob…..I have a knit kit right here at the PC…..will try them now! LOL!! BRB (be right back)!

I’ve had bad experience with the magic knot–no matter how tight I made it it still had the tendency to untie over time. Now I just use both yarns for several stitches. Works fine and doesn’t show in anything I knit,

My ex- son in law once asked me, long ago, if I could fix the sweater his grandmother had knit for him. She was 92, and oh did she love knots, almost all of which had come untied. It took many hours to retrieve the ends, weave in a replacement yarn, and secure the ends (with a needle and thread, literally sewing them into place. Grandma was delighted to see him wearing it, but I think this story is an extension of the curse of the boyfriend sweater, because it was only six months later that he became the ex SIL.

If I can’t spit, I weave/knit the ends in as i go, Kaffe Fasset style. No ends to weave in later, just snip, snip and i am done.

The timing of this article was perfect. I was just trying to figure out which method to use while knitting up a pair of socks. I always use contrast heels, toes and cuffs. I have use the spit splice on regular wool but sock yarn is mostly superwash, and I have done the Russian Join and yes even the magic knot. You are too correct; superwash yarn is slippery. I definitely don’t want to give a pair of freshly knitted socks away only to find out they came apart in the wash. So thank you for this easy but sock saving tip.

Great article! You make the Russian Join look easy! My Mom has always used the Overhand Knot and me being the “knot snob” would never do it. One day I was knitting a striped shawl and while changing colors she said watch how I do it and she knotted the two yarns together. Not wanting to undo it in front of her I let it go. Later I found it looked nicer then the way I was doing it and now continue to do so.

I keep telling you guys, a little bit of super glue dabbed on a cotton swab and carefully used instead of spit or to neatly join yarn without knots. Still, I like to leave ends on the wrong side in case. It’s handmade. That’s the beauty of it.

I’ve always done the ‘drop old pick up new’ method of joining and it’s worked well. It doesn’t take much if any fiddling to make the hole disappear. I leave tails long enough to bury by following the path of the stitches away from and then back toward the join and never have had one come undone. I’ve never noticed it making the edge bulky either. I’m not an excellent knitter and I don’t enter my knitted projects in competitions. There are probably lots of flaws, but a hole from joining a new yarn is not one of them. 🙂

I’m not sure if joining/changing yarns in the middle of the row works for two row striped scarves and blankets. I have seen perfect work with drop-old-pick-up-new resulting in lovely edges, but I can’t seem to master that technique. For plain old new ball joins I like the knit-a-few-stitches-with-both-together technique. I think I read somewhere that Kaffe may do the knitting on his gorgeous designs but someone else comes along after to do the joining. Lucky him.

I’m confused; tell me, what join to use making the Dr. Who scarf with all those yarn color changes…..all to be at the end of the row/s……thank you!! I’m thinking wrap/hook the two colors….new color to weave up….the other to go down…..do a duplicate stitch? Donna